If You Can't Beat 'em, Shut 'em Up

The atheist movement is all about open debate. We think our ideas are better, infinitely more supported by the evidence, and will eventually win out on their own merit.

Religions, on the other hand, lead to people censoring what the rest of us get to see out of some misguided sense of propriety.

Social websites including Google and Facebook have been ordered by an Indian court to remove all ‘anti-religious’ and ‘anti-social’ content within six weeks.

On Saturday a Delhi Court ordered 22 social networking sites, including Yahoo and Microsoft, to wipe the objectionable and defamatory contents and file compliance reports by February 6, 2012.

Snip.

On December 22 Judge Kumar had issued summonses to the social networking sites, demanding they remove photographs, videos or texts that might offend religious sentiments, the Hindustan Times website reported.

They even tell us who such measures are protecting.

Qasmi had objected to a number of images on the websites which he complained would cause ‘irreparable loss and injury to the people who are offended by them’.

Show me one time in the history of humanity when being offended caused loss or injury, let alone irreparable loss or injury. What a feeble excuse.

But hold the phone! They’re not censoring anything…

The minister insisted he was not smothering free speech but was suggesting screening possible ‘incendiary’ material.

Yes, and I’m not kicking him in the balls, I’m just swinging my boot into his groin with all the force I can muster.

News flash to minister Kabil: nobody needs protection for inoffensive speech. Freedom of speech is designed to protect speech that may offend somebody. Don’t censor things for being incendiary and then tell us you’re all buddy-buddy with freedom of speech.

Added Kabil, “Come on free speech, you know I only hit you ’cause I love you.”